Two discourses Author:William Webster Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: i.: . /.-- Cdncehimg the Nature of Prayer. I. TRAYER muft be an Aft of the Sad-, of ff hefpiritual and rational Part of us : If it were otherwife, it coul... more »d riot be a religious Act, which fuppofes it to be an Act of the Under/landing; neither, indeed, could it be a moral and timan Action, for That fuppofes two Things : Firft, that it be known to the gent i fecpndly, that it be freely acted. The Reader, I hope, will have Patience to wait for the Ufe that I intend to make of thefe Obfervations, which, at prefent may not appear to be fo pertinent as he will find them to be. Firft, I (ay, it muft -be 'known to the Agent becaufe, otherwife, it cannot, in a moral Senie, be called bis Action, nor does it flow from himfelf as a confctotts Principle of Action. And, if it be not freely acted, it -cannot be imputed to him, whether it be good, or bad. Prayer, therefore, muft be performed by one that knows when he prays, and is conjcious of what be does ; without which Knowledge and Confcioufnefi a Parrot may pray, as well as a Man, forafmuch as the Bird may be taught to utter the Words of a Prayer. Freedom of Action is, likewife, as neceflary as Knowledge and Con- fcioufnefs, becaufe, otherwife, a mufical Inftru- ment may be faid to pray when it is made, as it may be made by a Performer, to utter articulate Sounds. It is the Saul, then, the Thought of chapter{Section 4the Mind that makes our Words Prayer. If he kaows what he fays, and means, and wills the doing it, this makes it an Action flowing from himfelf, and is truly and properly Prayer. If, 2. To this Knowledge, Confcieufnefs, and Intention we add the Direction of the Mind while we (peak the Words. Prayer is Jpeaking to the Object of our Prayers, or converting with him ; but, unlefs the Mind be directed to him while the...« less